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2015-06-22 - Future Imperfect - We Have the Technology
In an emergency, sometimes S.T.A.R. labs just won't do. For all that they have some of the best minds in all of humanity, and can pull off some spectacular things given time, sometimes you just need something with a little more alien knowledge and lack of necessary safety of civilians in the tech setup. Sometimes you need to go to... The Watchtower. The gigantic orbiting satellite set up, run and commanded by the Justice League. With Martian Manhunter at the helm, the science is what you need when you've got to have something analyzed and basic stuff won't pull it off. This time, Clark has flown up with a bag full of collected dirt on a brick, and is waiting for the results. The door to the lab hisses open, and J'onn waves Clark in to join him. "I have your results. You may not like them." Always to the point. Clark walks into the lab, his glasses gone, but still pretty much in the same suit he was in earlier. The League members knew who he was anyway. The jacket is missing and the tie is loosened, and his sleeves are rolled up to his forearms. He nods to the martian. "Just tell me straight out, J'onn. How bad is it?" He asks as he moves over to lean against a console while crossing his arms over his chest. Without preamble, J'onn says, "The brick is normal, but the dust on it is from the future as you suggested. The radiation dates it as from sometime after the sun has turned to a red dwarf, which means into the hundreds of millions of years. However," he says, pulling up a graphics display of radiation signatures, "It isn't. Basic fluctuation patterns would be much wider if that were the case. No, this is from a future barely three and a half million years in the future, but ALSO with the sun having turned to a red dwarf, far too early. Someone destroyed the future that this sample came from." Clark frowns heavily as he looks at the data for himself. "That's going to rule out the possibility of me retrieving her myself. I'd start losing my powers the moment I arrived there." He turns to look at the martian again. "What are our options in this case?" "Realistically, we have a few," says J'onn as he turns off the display. He knows what it says by now, no reason to have it up there. "Time travel usually relies on forming time tunnels through the temporal stream. Your method is a little different, but the rest of us have to form pathways. The longer the pathway, the more energy is required due to fluctuations in the timestream." He pulls up data on power expenditures and the upward curve of energy requirements for time travel. "We can form a path forward about one million years. Any more would require making a bigger generator than we have available. I think with your help and that of our brighter minds we can extend that by another million. I'd also like to begin scanning the timestream for better paths, strange energy signatures, and anything else that might help us out. Simply identifying the time that the sun changed would be a large help, and perhaps help us to plan for the event when it happens." Clark listens intently to J'onn, nodding his head slightly. He understood the science behind it, but he didn't have the experience to build the martian needed. "Alright. We also have Kara's genetic marker in the Tower database. Once we figure out when the sun changed, we can work from there to scan for where she is. If she's under a red sun, she can't get back on her own. And she'd be losing more of her abilities with each passing hour. On top of that, we have no idea what kind of dangers she might be facing. With that in mind, I would suggest you work with Mr. Terrific. He's pretty much the smartest guy in the League, next to you, that is. In the meantime, I'll be in Metropolis lending my...well..the newest kryptonian a hand in keeping things under wraps. I'll keep my com unit handy so alert me the moment something comes up, if you can." J'onn nods, a human habit he's picked up intentionally since he arrived. He's made quite the effort to fit in in the small ways, even if the green skin doesn't blend well. "I intend to put all our available resources into this, Clark. Kara is not just a League member. She's family to us all. I'll keep you updated. Oh, and see if you can get that new prospect for proper testing. If he's going to be representing us, he should have the regular mind scan and physical." Clark smiles. "Well, I planned on giving her a tour of the Tower at some point in the future. I'll ask her if she'd mind being subjected to testing to try to figure out her origins. Or at least something similar. I'm not sure about her as a prospect for the League just yet. Though I'm sure she'll end up being a Titan like Kara at first. Until she matures more and gets a better handle on her powers." He idly rubs his chin. "Though with Kara gone, she might need a little help. I'll volunteer for that in Kara's stead." He did, afterall, teach Kara how to control her own powers. Even if Diana was the one that taught her how to fight. "Her, right. This would be the dark-haired one that shows up in the news reports?" J'onn types a few things into the computer. "Well, I'm certain that you're qualified to do that for another Kryptonian. I'll focus on Kara." Leaning down, J'onn says into the speakerphone, "Mr. Terrific, if you could please meet me in the Lab in five minutes." Then he turns to Clark, his face unreadable, and says, "I've been experimenting with the speakerphone instead of telepathy. It is slower, but seems somehow to be better received." Clark grins and pats J'onn on the shoulder. "If it's any consolation, J'onn. You're still the only person I trust mucking around in my mind." He looks up at the news reports as Mia is doing her hero thing and he can't help but smile. "Yeah, that's her. I can't explain it though. I feel oddly protective of her, just like I do with Kara and Conner." He shrugs. "Well, I should get going and let you work." He presses against his ear. "Transporter room. One to beam down to earth. Metropolis and somewhere inconspicuous if you don't mind." J'onn then goes slightly transparent and slides down into the floor, heading for the lab to get started.